Refrigerating storage unit



Jan. 3, i950 G. B. WAGNER REFRIGERATING STORAGE UNIT 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed April 50, 1946 BYK Jan. 3, 1950 G. B. WAGNER REFRIGERATING STORAGE UNIT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 3o, 194e INVENTOR GEORGE B. WAGNER i .fw/m,

ATTGRNEY Patented Jan. 3, 1950 sfrniieeiuur '(eQrgeB- iergrleir,A'iolbrolcfiiass.,A assgnorto "ABeelgnanjndustriesLInca,'New York, N. Y., a

corporation of New York Y uninstall-risalto, 194e, serrare-sesion a l This "inventionl relates AtoI` a novelLV refri'gerating 4; apparatus of 'the' nature,` disclosedl in my "cop'erid- :ingfapplicationsF'Serial'-Nos:604,700,^now"Patent 2,489,510, dated November 29, 1949, 'and 642,312,

ltively. In 'those"al'ap'lications1'Iv have `Idiscloseda storage 'chamberf refrigeratedby 'evaporation' 4'gas Vairomf-:Dry -I'cev conducted from "a Dry Ice box A`through a-r`efrig`erant pipe'in the'cha'mb'eryt- :gether 'with means f for `controlling the temper'a- Iim ,chaxnberfforC automatically controlling the'transferfof `'heat from the "chamber 't'o nit'lre bo'Xjn-accordance with the wteinperature in "thefchamb'r, it fbei'n'gppait itl'ittt"-`such transfer of heat causes increased evaporationof the Dry Ice and a consequentlowrigofVthetmperature in the i,

'In n'its' preferred form, the invention embodies a refrigeratingv unit for shipping perishable products and"` :`ri1b`rissbkdike-coritainer having a storage chamber With-in 'insulated wall's'an'd yopenonlyat its top end,;aremo vable cover'closing this end of the chamber, and m'eansjincluding an insulated Dry Ice box supported by the cover in the chamber and thermostically operated means for automatically maintaining a predetermined temperature in the chamber. The production of such an improved unit in which the refrigerating mechanism is carried by the cover, leaving the storage chamber free for receiving and removing perishable products when the cover is removed, comprises the primary object of the invention.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings in which- Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in vertical section, of an apparatus embodying my invention,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of a portion of the apparatus,

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan View of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is a further enlarged side elevation of the device, partially in vertical section on line 4--4 of Fig. 2.

In the drawings, Ill indicates a double walled sont-amer having sneer amminum 1i-ning. +2, fa

'strong and liglit-'vfzeight fibre r`outer A`wall `l 4 'arid "thick Alight-weight insulation 'I 5 therebetween, a reinforcing rib 6 "of y"vs'footl being providedat the top. Ilifting handles "fare securedto opposite 'sides of the "container "and the interior fprovid's 'ai'stragje chamber 20.. Y'Ihetop 'endfthe'conl"tain'r isopenandiadapted"toreceive acover 22. The "cover Ai's"'double "'walldan'd fully "insulated fand is provided with v'a rubber seat "223 for 'conj- "tacting-the top end lofthecontainer. "Strap's''il "are "employed to hold the 'cover tightly l"in fpla'ce 'on the container. l

Refrigerating apparatus including a "sheet aluninum box '2t is supported rby EvU'-s'hsuned-brackets 2a "on the bottomwau of 'trie cover. 'Disposed within the box 2t "is ashet aluminum *Dry-.Ice containing box 3B 1fully insulated "fromh'e 'box ze by thick insulation "32. one endofjthebeg: 30 is open to permit charging with Dry "Ice "34 and rtva 'closure with "insulation "3B Ais provided l'for 'closing Athis end of the box.

, r:Atapered 'ripening "as is formes through `tu@ 'insulti-uen 'housing-32 tn the'bosggt atftue'fbtwm-'0f the unitaria agate an," ritaining 'thick insulation l4l is 'pwrov'ided 'in this 'opening The `Zposition of this gatein the'openingis'autrriati-V lcauy controlled 'by turng'stanauy spera-teu means in 'thex'stor'age chamber: The ther Estanc-vmearns"ii1ustratedcomprises an erpa'sibre iiietal bellows 42 welded "at itsv'ut'op endto "the i'btto'm wall'bf vthe "cve'r "arid Yhaving its 'bottih end welded at 44 to a bar 46. The ends of the bar carry two rods 48 extending downwardly through tubes 50 disposed through the housing 26. The gate 40 is carried on a bar 52 supported on the bottom' ends of these rods. The bellows is lled with ethyl chloride or other temperature sensitive fluid.

The Dry Ice box is preferably vented through a refrigerating coil 54 extending outwardly therefrom through the box 26, and from thence through the storage chamber and outwardly through the cover at 56. Venting pressure is controlled by an adjustable valve 58 as in my said copending applications.

A temperature of F. is normally maintained in the Dry Ice box 30 and the temperature to be maintained in the storage chamber '20 depends on the product contained. I have employed this apparatus in the storage of perishable products and have maintained a predetermined tem'perature of 45 F. in the storage chamber uniformly within less than 2 over a period of 104 hours. It will be apparent that transfer of heat from the storage chamber 20 to the box 3D will increase evaporation of the Dry Ice and thereby lowerrthe temperature in the storage Vchamber and my invention contemplates the con-V ijf s 2,493,647

and the gate 40 is so constructed and mounted that these walls closely approach but do not come into tight contact when the gate is closed, Vtlfierei y by preventing any freezing of the gate in its 'v plus means cooperating with the thermostatically closed position. As one means for performing this function, I have illustrated stops 53 at the ends of the bar 52, the stops-being adapted to engage the housing 26. The temperature mainadapted to hold the gate in closed position when the temperature in the chamber is below a pre- -determined degree and to open the gate when the temperature exceeds said degree.

2. The refrigerating unit defined in claim 1 in which the edge walls of the gate and the cooperating walls oi the housing diverge outwardly, and

Y' means supporting the gate Yfor straight line move- Yment outwardly and inwardly of the opening by said thermostatically operated bellows.

3. The refrigerating unit defined in claim 1 V- plus means for preventing complete contact clostained within the storage chamber can be varied by adjusting the gate supporting balance provided by the bellows 42. In the drawings I have illustrated two tension springs 60 hung on bolts 62 carried by the cover 22 and connected at their bottom ends to the rods 48. The tension springs :can be varied by rotating thumb nuts' 64 in .threaded engagement with the bolts yand such action adjusts the position of the gate 40 relative to and in the `direction of the opening 38. It will be apparent that such adjustment permits more orless heat to pass through the opening from the chamber 20 and serves to varyv the vcontrolled temperature of the chamber.

It will be understood that various products contained withinV and shipped in the container require the maintenance 'of different temperatures and this f adjustment permits the maintaining of the tem- ,perature required of the particular product.

`Having thus disclosed my invention what I Vclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters at-one end through ysaid walls, a removable cover -for closing said one end of the chamber, a closed Dry Ice .box in the chamber, an insulation housing enclosing theV box except for an opening through the housing from the chamber to the box, means supporting the box and housing onthe cover, a closure gate in the last named-Y opening, and a thermostatically operated bellows supported on the cover and connected to and ure `of the gate in the opening.

4. The refrigerating unit dened in claim 1 operated bellows and gate for adjustably varyling the position of the gate in the opening in the path of its movement under the action of Vthe bellows.

5. The refrigerating unit defined in claim 1 plus resilient means operating on the gate to move ittoward said closed position, and means for varying the eiective action of therresilient means on the gate. Y

6. A refrigerating storage unit comprising' a vbox-like container embodying insulated'walls enclosing a storage chamber having an opening at one end through said walls, a removable cover 4for closing said end yof the chamber, a closed Dry Ice box extending downwardly from the cover into the chamber, an insulation housing enclosing the box except for an opening through the bottom wall of the 'housing from the chamber to the box, means supporting the box and hous- Aing on the cover,- a closure gate in the last named opening, and means including rods extending through the housing and thermostatically operatedmeans in the chamber for 'supporting the .gate and automatically moving itin the closing- ..opening directions :in accordance with temperature changes in the chamber.

- GEORGEV n. WAGNER.

imFEimNoiEsV CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

